Kapahulu structure meets rules

Question: I was wondering if you know what that large structure being built on Kapahulu Avenue, where KC Drive Inn used to be. It towers two stories over the H-1 freeway, blocking what used to be a beautiful view. Is there any height restriction there?

Answer: A five-story medical center is being built at 1029 Kapahulu Ave., the site of the old KC Drive Inn.

The area is zoned a B-2 Community Business District with a height limit of 60 feet.

The building is being built by Drs. Sharon Lawler and Clyde Miyaki, who are married and currently in practice with other doctors and dentists in a building just a couple of blocks away, at 750 Palani Ave.

All city zoning requirements and restrictions, including height limits, have been met, according to an employee at Lawler's office, who provided information about the project.

The building is targeted for completion in December "if all goes well," she said.

It will have two floors of parking, with "two-and-a-half floors" of office space above, she said.

The facility is being built to provide residents in the area with a "comprehensive medical facility" so that they don't have to travel downtown or to other areas outside the neighborhood, she said.

In addition to medical, dental and eye services, physical therapy, an X-ray facility, a laboratory and a pharmacy will be among other services offered.

Q: I saw mention of the Fort Street Mall farmer's market in your column. When is that held?

A: The "open air market" is held 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays near Wilcox Park, which is the little park on King Street near Macy's.

About 30 vendors set up shop along the mall.

"It's really not a farmer's market -- more like an open-air market," said Gene Yokoi, executive director of the Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District Association, which sponsors the event.

Only about a half dozen of the vendors sell produce, he said, with the others selling craft items and items from Asia and the Pacific.

Mahalo

To the kind woman who helped me with my mother at the Kapalama Pet Hospital on the afternoon of July 3. I forgot to get her name in my excitement of the moment. She saw the problem I was having with getting my mom, 94, from her wheelchair and onto the toilet seat, in the restroom set in the public area of the office. In spite of the baby in her arms and caring for two other children, she had someone watch the little one she had in her arms and ran across the room to help us. She said the kind of help she was giving mom was a daily routine for her, a nurse at Pali Momi Hospital. In the excitement of the moment, I forgot to get your name. I apologize for that but we both want to thank you for all your help. Mom was feeling much better after the incident, and it was all because of your unselfish and unreserved help. -- Herbert K. Sato